Little Scientists: Eggs-periments

I can't believe I missed posting about my egg-themed Little Scientists program! This was one of the most successful sessions so far, with a great mix of experiments, activities, and games. We were also lucky that the Ohio spring weather let us do the messiest bits outside. Usually, I would read a story at this program followed by an assortment of self-guided stations, but this time we went straight into stations and 10 minutes before the end of the 30 minute program we gathered for a group experiment. This program was for 2-5 year olds and lasted approximately 30 minutes.

This month's take home experiment was the dissolving eggshell trick. Kids got an egg in a cup (with vinegar if they didn't have any at home) and were encouraged to observed what happened to their egg. I used a address label to type up and stick right to the cup some ideas for what to do with their egg afterwards. Unfortunately, my sample egg broke right before the program but I think that lent a little mystery to the experiment.

Kids counted the bandages on each broken egg and matched it to the number on a card.

Kids shook 5 different eggs filled with 5 different things and tried to guess what was inside. There were examples of each filler outside of the egg to guide kids if they needed help.

  

Our group experiment! Throughout the first 20 minutes of the program, kids voted on what they thought would happen to an egg dropped on a variety of surfaces. This one was a ton of fun and kids loved finding out if their guesses were correct. It was also a great opportunity to get a bunch of kids to learn to say "hypothesis"!

This one was a HUGE hit! We learned about why birds can sit on their eggs without breaking them and then tested it out by walking on eggs ourselves. Kids and adults were all amazed that when they walked slowly and used a hand-hold for balance the eggs wouldn't break. Only 2 or so broke the entire time!

Last but not least, kids and their adults competed in egg spoon races. Smaller kids could use a plastic egg, but everyone was encouraged to try using a real one as well.

This edition of Little Scientists was one of my favorites so far! Everyone loved the experiments and activities and no eggs went to waste (hopefully my coworkers don't find out, but any unbroken eggs went into the frittata I made for a staff potluck later that week).

You may like to add your own fun fonts, but you can find the signs I made for the stations here.